His family was in the cinema business, but it was during his National Service that he began performing as a musician. After taking a correspondence course and arranging for some of the bands of the day, he formed The John Barry Seven. Barry then met Adam Faith, and composed songs and film scores on the singer's behalf.
It was this notoriety that caught the attention of the producers of Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with the score given to them by Monty Norman. Barry and the JB7 were hired and their recording of Norman's "James Bond Theme" would go on to be one of the most famous signature tunes in film history.
This would be the turning point for Barry, as he would go on to become one of the most celebrated film composers of modern times, winning five Academy Awards and four Grammys, with such memorable scores as The Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves.
Barry is often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. However, he was also an innovator, being one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and to make wide use of pop artists and original songs in Midnight Cowboy.
Living in his native England until the mid 1970s, Barry spent some time in Spain (for tax purposes) before spending much of his life in the United States, mainly in Oyster Bay, outside of New York.
Barry died of a heart attack on 30 January 2011, at his Oyster Bay home, aged 77 years.
Minnie The Moocher
John Barry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She was a red hot hoochie coocher,
She was the roughest, toughest frail,
but Minnie had a heart as big as a whale.
Ho-dee ho-dee ho
Ho-dee ho-dee ho
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi
Hey-dee hey
Hey-dee hey
Whoah
Whoah
She messed around with a bloke named Smokey.
She loved him though was cokie,
he took her down to Chinatown
and he showed her how to kick the gong around.
Hey-dee hey-dee hey
Hey-dee hey-dee hey
Oy yoi yoi yoi yoi yoi
Oy yoi yoi yoi yoi yoi
Ay yi yi yi yi yi-oh
Ay yi yi yi yi yi-oh
Whoah
Whoah
She had a dream about the King of Sweden,
He gave her things that she was needin',
He gave her a home built of gold and steel,
a diamond car with the platinum wheel.
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi
Hey-dee hey-dee hey-dee hey-dee hey
Hey-dee hey-dee hey-dee hey-dee hey
He gave her his townhouse and his racing horses,
Each meal she ate was a dozen courses,
She had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes,
She sat around and counted them all a million times.
Hi-dee hi-dee hi
Hi-dee hi-dee hi
Whoah
Whoah
Poor Min, poor Min, poor Min.
The song Minnie the Moocher by John Barry portrays a story about a woman named Minnie who is described as a red hot hoochie coocher. Despite being the roughest and toughest, Minnie had a heart as big as a whale. The song tells a story of how Minnie was involved with a man named Smokey who showed her how to kick the gong around in Chinatown. Subsequently, Minnie had a dream about the King of Sweden who gave her a home made of gold and steel, a diamond car with the platinum wheel, and his townhouse with racing horses. Minnie had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes which she would sit around and count all day long.
Line by Line Meaning
Folks here's a story 'bout Minnie the Moocher,
I have a story to tell about Minnie the Moocher.
She was a red hot hoochie coocher,
Minnie was sexy and attractive.
She was the roughest, toughest frail,
She was strong and resilient, despite being delicate in appearance.
but Minnie had a heart as big as a whale.
Despite her outward toughness, Minnie was genuinely kind and caring.
Ho-dee ho-dee ho
N/A
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi
N/A
Hey-dee hey-dee hey-dee hey
N/A
Whoah
N/A
She messed around with a bloke named Smokey.
Minnie had a relationship with a guy named Smokey.
She loved him though was cokie,
She loved him despite his addiction to cocaine.
he took her down to Chinatown
He brought her to a seedy part of town.
and he showed her how to kick the gong around.
He introduced her to drug use and addiction.
Oy yoi yoi yoi yoi yoi
N/A
Ay yi yi yi yi yi-oh
N/A
She had a dream about the King of Sweden,
Minnie had a dream about royalty.
He gave her things that she was needin',
In her dream, the king provided for Minnie's needs.
He gave her a home built of gold and steel,
The king gave her a luxurious golden and steel house.
a diamond car with the platinum wheel.
Minnie's car from the king was adorned with diamonds and a platinum wheel.
He gave her his townhouse and his racing horses,
The king also gifted his townhouse and racehorses to Minnie.
Each meal she ate was a dozen courses,
Minnie was accustomed to lavish banquets.
She had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes,
Minnie had a lot of money, although the currency was small denominations.
She sat around and counted them all a million times.
She spent a lot of time and effort counting her wealth many times.
Poor Min, poor Min, poor Min.
Despite her success and lavish dreams, Minnie had a difficult life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cab Calloway, Clarence Gaskill, Irving Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joseph lewis
I love old.school jazz.
Lola Martinez Beneyto
Me apetecía escucharla película música sublime espectacular total
777camus
American movies of this era were great.
Susanna Vaccaro
Film capolavoro.( Avevo anche la cassetta video). L' ho preferito a La citta" del Jazz,anche se ha fimati con cantanti e musicisti D.O C.(.Billie Holiday).lo hanno fatto noioso,sembra una biografia - documentario,con la parvenza di una storia! ( Meglio quella di Charlie Parker , piu' convincente ,la sua biografia) ♥️
Lavin M Lavin
I worked on the film, Cab himself came by to Astoria Studios daily as a 'consultant' he commanded respect and got it.
Alakai Almon
Are all of the clips from the movie?
avace917
Yes
Lola Martinez Beneyto
Película genial espectacular aquí en este película se demuestra el odio el racismo la mafia es muy actual parece que no haya pasado
avace917
Why do you have this name listed? The actor's name is Larry Marshall
P White
He was in Jesus Christ Superstar